Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Irony Flips and Flops and Other Loose Thoughts

Can't seem to get my head to focus on any one issue today. We've been working on Mr. SIGIS's man-cave today and I'm pondering the irony of that. If it's a Man-Cave, shouldn't HE be decorating it? Yeah, so I'm done with that.

Speaking of irony, isn't there some irony in Rick Perry suing Virginia over its "onerous" ballot requirements? Taegan Goddard beat me in noting that out loud, but it's true, nonetheless. That being said, I'm not sure he doesn't have a point. Allahpundit:

So I ask again: Is he right? A law professor interviewed by NBC says the lawsuit “now faces long odds, both legally and politically”
(partly because they should have challenged Virginia’s requirements
earlier), but some federal appellate courts have sided with Perry on
this. Here’s one case,
from the Tenth Circuit, finding state residency requirements for
petition circulators unconstitutional; two other federal appellate
courts have ruled similarly. The question is whether the Fourth Circuit,
which covers Virginia, will rule the same way. How lucky do you feel?

Lucky!

We shall see.

And speaking of Rick Perry, his new stance on abortion is raising some eyebrows. He now opposes abortion in all circumstances:

“That transformation was after watching the DVD, ‘The Gift of Life,’”
Perry said. “And I really started giving some thought about the issue
of rape and incest. And some powerful, some powerful stories in that
DVD.”

Perry said a woman who appeared in the movie who said she was a product of rape moved him to change his mind about abortion.

Iowa caucuses are a week away; coincidence or no?

“She said, ‘My life has worth.’ It was a powerful moment for me,” Perry said.

For argument’s sake, I’ll give you three reasons why this might not be
pure political expedience at work. One: It wouldn’t be the first time
personal testimony on a hot-button issue made a deep impression on
Perry. His experience with Heather Burcham
clearly touched him too. Two: It seems almost too desperate. Precisely
because the timing reeks of expedience, there’s a risk that more social
cons will perceive it as pandering and will dismiss him as a phony than
will be charmed by his newfound commitment. If he was going to flip on
this for reasons of political gain, why not do it several weeks ago
instead of in the middle of his final Iowa push? Three, most
importantly: How does he gain from it, really?

It is part of the problem I have with him. He is too easily led
astray of what is right by what is “right” in a progressive way.
Obviously moving to the right on abortion is not a progressive
direction, but what happens when it is illegal aliens or even people in
other countries who want to come here on the tax payer dime for life
saving medical care? I sure as hell do not want to be paying for their
healthcare because Perry met some Guatemalan refugee in need of a
transplant.

It's a valid point, but again, it's a stance that is consistent with Perry's faith and positions. I'm willing to believe him on this one. He's going to spend the rest of the campaign defending it, though. He's forfeited the "flip-flopper" card against Mittens now.

People that know Perry and have met him, for the most part, trumpet his sincerity and down home, plain folks demeanor. There is, it seems to me, a reason why he's never lost an election, and that may be part of it.

I'm still pulling for Perry. Even if it IS a flip-flop, it's one against the many of Mittens. This one at least has a smatch of sincerity in it.

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I am a writer and high school English teacher in Shreveport and also work as a free-lance proofreader. My biography of Cammie Henry of Melrose Plantation will be published in 2018. I've been published at The American Thinker, The Shreveport Times, The Bossier Press Tribune and had photographs published in Bayou Bucks magazine, The Forum, and other local publications. I like dogs better than most people.